These 5 Tools Will Help You Learn Something New Today

The day you walk across the stage and accept your degree, shouldn’t be the end all of your learning. In a competitive workforce, it’s important to continue to learn and grow professionally and personally.

Whether you continue to grow your skillset within your field that you are currently working in, or in a different area that interests you, learning and developing your skills can have a number of benefits including making you irreplaceable at work, and increasing your happiness because you’re challenging yourself in a new way.

We are lucky that in this day-in-age, learning exists beyond just your standard classroom and you don’t have to go into student debt again to expand your skillset. Here are some tools you can use to learn more.

1. Lynda.com

Lynda.com is a great resource to learn just about anything. The website has a database of thousands of e-courses on things as broad as photography, to as specific as using Facebook for a non-profit organization.

The video library is filled with courses taught by industry experts and the inexpensive membership price makes it almost too good to be true.

2. Networking Websites

This seems a bit straight forward, but many people actually don’t use these websites unless they are job hunting. Sites like LinkedIn or Ten Thousand Coffees aren’t just for people looking for jobs, in fact, they can be a great place to connect with people within and outside of your network.

Challenge yourself to invite someone new for coffee every month, and pick their brain a bit about what they do. It’s amazing what you can learn from the people around you!

3. Your local library

It may be a surprise to you that people still use public libraries, but I think we forget how great these spaces can be. Not only can you go take out free books, but often libraries host a variety of different workshops, events and meet-ups that are inexpensive or free. Some libraries even host workshops as innovative as 3D printing!

4. YouTube

The best part of YouTube is that it’s free, and the second best part is that there are hundreds of hours of videos being uploaded every minute. When you think of YouTube, you may think of it as a place to mainly go for music or entertainment, but besides that, there are thousands of videos filled with do-it-yourself tutorials and informational step-by-step guides that teach you about different topics.

Want to learn how to photoshop people out of your photos? Search it on YouTube! Want to learn how to change the oil in your car? YouTube it!

5. Skillshare

With almost 5,000 classes to choose from, Skillshare is a great tool to expand your skillset. Take classes in anything from design, to business, engage with your classmates through forums, or sign-up to teach your own class.

The best part about Skillshare is that lessons are bite sized and a class is usually only around an hour or less. This means that you can literally learn from anywhere, on your own schedule.

We live in a world where learning is more accessible than ever before, so take advantage of it and learn something new today!

About the Author

Lauren Marinigh is a Toronto-based online marketing and content development professional, who is completely addicted to traveling, puppies, and GIFs.

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